Small Sintered Titanium Marker Makes A Big Difference in Lives of Women with Breast Cancer

X-ray image of the breast showing clear visibility of the titanium marker after deployment. Overlay of marker in the ATEC® biopsy needle.

When Suros Surgical Systems, Inc. of Indianapolis was looking for a new, innovative way to improve their breast biopsy system, they went in the direction of expanding options to offer a complete biopsy solution to physicians and patients. Suros, a medical device manufacturer specializing in minimally invasive tissue excision and biopsy within multiple surgical areas, developed a titanium biopsy site marker that complemented its widely adopted ATEC® breast biopsy system. A marker is placed at the biopsy site following a procedure to clearly identify where the biopsy was completed and is used as a visual reference point for future screenings.

Applied Porous was able to manufacture for Suros a biocompatible, implant-grade titanium marker to Suros's strict specifications. Titanium was chosen because it provides permanent visibility under X-ray, MRI and ultrasound imaging. For this project, porosity and density requirements were not based on typical filtration performance, but instead on the combination of the material's biocompatibility and its interaction with the different imaging modalities. APT had to incorporate alternative testing methods to better describe the critical properties and re-certify the materials for use in an implantable device.

The titanium biopsy site marker is small and porous, making it easy for the physician to deploy to the biopsy area and see it under any imaging system at a later time.

Quality and price were major factors when Suros selected APT as its vendor, but turnaround time was the most important to engineers. Suros’s engineers were looking for a company to react quickly. To Suros, 'react quickly' meant that they needed a company to not only deliver the product quickly, but also provide quotes, make changes and respond promptly. According to Mike Hoffa, Director of Engineering for Suros, Applied Porous easily met that challenge and made the entire process work smoothly. "Suros moves fast," he said. "Applied Porous moves just as fast."

Applied Porous is currently supporting several projects that integrate porous metal media into medical devices. "Over the past few years, we have seen a steady increase in the use of porous materials in medical applications due, in part, to APT's continued efforts to develop unique micro-sized porous discs, cups and tubes, as well as welded assemblies," states Ed Swiniarski, President, Applied Porous Technologies.

APT welcomes new, innovative customers like Suros. Together with these customers, we will work to expand our capabilities to develop and produce unique porous metal media and assemblies, providing our customers with a continuing supply of new design tools.

	Industry: Automotive Customer: ERL Ltd.

A: 4-nozzle spraybar provides external air/air intercooler cooling on the move. B: One single, internal nozzle supplies in-cylinder cooling for the highly stressed engine.

ERL Ltd. is an English company that manufactures a small atomizing nozzle for water injection systems that are used in internal combustion engines. This "Aquamist" nozzle was designed to supply atomized water, at various flow rates and droplet sizes, into high-performance engines such as those found in Ford, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Seat, Hyundai and Skoda World Rally Championship and Formula 1 racing cars. Its primary functions are to provide high-speed, in-cylinder cooling and to reduce the onset of detonation under extreme temperatures and pressures.

In preparing to introduce a new "low flow" nozzle in 2004, ERL first looked for an inline filter to prevent clogging. However, because of the complications of coupling an external inline filter at high line pressure, they decided that it would be better to use an internal filter. Although a convex disc filter was ERL’s first choice, it was not practical, due to the dimensional irregularity and limited space within the nozzle cavity.

Sintered porous metal seemed to be the ideal solution for this application. This material could be manufactured to tight tolerances and could meet the requirements of today's CNC-produced mating parts. In speaking to a number of porous metal manufacturers, ERL found APT to be the most responsive. We quickly supplied ERL with in-depth engineering information and suggested specific answers to their needs.

APT worked with this customer to develop a small filter cup that could be incorporated into the existing fittings with minimal design changes. All contact during the product development stage was coordinated by APT's Dr. Christian Wegner through Applied Porous Technologies, Europe/Asia AB, our European Office in Sweden. Richard Lamb, ERL's Chief Engineer, says, "Excellent engineering support during the testing stage enabled us to arrive at the final specifications in less than 10 weeks – a valuable asset indeed."

Once the design was complete, APT began to supply production quantities. ERL reports that this nozzle filter has met all expectations. It has been field-tested over the past six months on a wide range of temperatures and media, and it has performed flawlessly.

"The final unit price was a nice surprise," Richard Lamb adds. "APT will always be our first choice for sure."

We at APT would like to help make your next project involving a filter a "success story," as we have done with ERL Ltd. and Suros Surgical Systems, Inc. Please contact us with your requirements and let us show you what we can do.

In March, 2005, Applied Porous Technologies, Inc. will be celebrating the 5th anniversary of our business. These past five years have been both fast-paced and exciting. We are proud to say that we have enjoyed significant growth every year since our inception. We would like to thank all of our customers, both new and those that have been with us from the beginning, for their business and continued support.

As we make plans for the next 5 years, we must first look internally to be certain we have the proper systems in place to support our present and future growth. We realize that some areas of our business have not kept up with the fast pace of our growth, and we need to place a priority on correcting those areas in order to move ahead. In particular, we recognize a significant need to improve our method for quoting lead times, as well as our on-time delivery performance. We know that these issues are critical to our customers, and we are determined to strengthen our processes so that we can meet your needs on all future orders.

Over the next year, we will be dedicating significant resources to restructuring our internal systems to better serve the needs of our customers. We have already made changes and additions to our personnel to provide more resources to our manufacturing and project management teams. In addition, we will be upgrading our data systems and software so that we will have better access to real-time information on open orders and deliveries. Finally, along with our partner, Acceleron, Inc., and with the help of an outside consulting firm, we have embarked on a mission to implement a 5S program throughout our company. Our employees have fully embraced this program and are working hard to build a better Applied Porous Technologies, Inc.

All of us at Applied Porous Technologies, Inc. wish to thank you in advance for your support as we implement these positive changes. We look forward to continuing our relationship with each of you long into the future.